I thought I might get the new year going with an old story with a new twist.

My gggrandfather was William Murchie.

He died on 10 Feb 1871 at Auchmannock Hill, Sorn, Ayrshire. His death
record, in which one of his sons Findlay is the informant, says he died
aged 92, that he married Janet Hamilton, that his father's name was Murchie
(no forename), and that both he and his father had been farmers.

I also know from both family history, and from the 1861 census in Sorn,
that he was born in Kilmory, Arran. He and Janet had two sons, Alexander
(born abt 1827) and Findlay (born abt 1833), both born in Kilmory.

I can find no trace of William's birth or marriage in the OPR on the
ScotlandsPeople website.

The IGI has a listing for a William Murchie, which matches the profile of
my William very closely. The IGI record says he died about 1871, gives his
date of birth as 1780 (viz. age 90 or 91 at his actual date of death), and
place of birth as "Benicarigan, Isle Of Arran, Bute, Scotland".

The 2nd edition Ordnance Survey maps show a "Bennicaragan", and a
"Bennicaragan farm", quite near Kilmory.

Family myth has it that the excise man caught up with William's whisky
smuggling activities, causing him and his family to do a hasty departure to
the mainland in the early 1830's. Whatever, he was not in Arran at the time
of the 1841 census. That census does however show that there were a number
of Murchie families farming at Shannochie on Arran, including a Finlay
Murchie aged 50. Shannochie is also near Kilmory and Bennicaragan, and
Finlay/Findlay not that common a name, that it seems possible that my
William (who would have been abt 59 in 1841) may be related to the
Shannochie bunch.

I would be very grateful for any information or advice that might help me
tie up all these loose ends. I am also puzzled by where the IGI record
comes from, and what the source is for the information on Bennicaragan,
because I haven't been able to find it anywhere I've looked.

Neil Murchie Hodge, in Adelaide Australia, where the temperature was over
40 degrees on new year's eve!

Hi Neil

The record was submitted by a member of the LDS church so the details could
just be family hearsay and there may not be any official records. You can
search for this record on the Ancestral File and sometimes the name and address
of who submitted the record is given. In your case the submitter isn't listed
in the Ancestral File. However there is another William Murphy Murchie birth
listed with submitter's details (their spelling not mine):
12 AUG 1819 Ben Carrigon, Island Of Aaron Parents: Donald
Murchie/Mary McCurdie
If you are unsure how to obtain the submitter's details contact me offline
and I'll send you the details.